It’s hard to recall a movie that has been condemned to such extreme purgatory than the remake of the beloved 1994 film, The Crow. Reactions to the mere concept back in 2008 were coy at best and bloodthirsty at worst. Years later of development hell, The Crow 2024 was vilified from first look of Bill Skarsgård to the rocky trailer and now, upon release, it’s soul cannot rest having been condemned to Hell by fans (for any who have seen it). And yet, in spite of everything, I was still willing to give it a chance and… I genuinely thought it was ok.
Flawed? Most definitely. In every corner, the reboot develops yet another fault. But, judging by what I saw, in spite of shoddy writing, I felt the effort was put in by a filmmaker that can acquire a stellar production quality and cast. Certainly not a 20% film by any stretch and many tears above Black Adam, Wonder Woman 84 or Quantumania.
Ultimately, what The Crow ‘24 suffers from is standing shoulder to shoulder with the beloved original. Every element and direction this takes, even those I really liked, is bettered in what came before, but still, I at least admire the reboot for not carbon copying its predecessor. Certainly refreshing to not hear cheap call backs and reused dialogue and ‘member berries’ like Disney’s remakes. This reboot is far more bitter and harsher than its romanticised predecessor which assists the tragic feel of its version of Eric Draven. And one of its greatest strengths is its protagonist, who ditches the heroic aura of Brandon Lee to something more twisted.
Lee was always going to be a tough act to follow, but Bill Skarsgård swoops in and makes the role very much his own. Through various characters that require very much by doing so little, Skarsgård proves very reliable and his casting in The Crow was a smart choice. His Eric is a boy who has a fantastical way of looking at world only to be smacked repeatedly with reality. Every syllable is immersed in the character’s trauma. He’s like if Peter Pan was directed by David Cronenberg - a tortured soul who, after losing the one source of happiness, embraced the monster.
And when Skarsgård dons the make up of the spectre of vengeance (albeit finally at the final act) he looks incredible. In action sequences and close ups, this version of Eric is terrifying and not a clear cut hero. Whereas Lee was a constant aura of coolness, Skarsgård is satanic wrecking machine. So despite the common vilification of this portrayal, I instead find it pretty fascinating.
That being said, the movie’s primary endeavour is to make the romance fuelling the story feel convincing. Unfortunately, that isn’t achieved as Eric and Shelly only spend roughly three days together and it’s mostly through drug-induced parties. They also share very unnatural dialogue typical of Hollywood assuming this is how couples talk to each other. Let me assure you, they don’t! Another obstacle against this romance is that FKA Twigs’ casting is a consistent head scratcher. She doesn’t ruin the movie entirely, but her inexperience in acting is evident and reminded me a lot of Harry Styles in Don’t Worry Darling. Opposite Skarsgård, her surface level emotions are a distraction and she doesn’t seem to have much chemistry with him as an irreplaceable soulmate.
The movie suffers from inconsistent pacing as a further forty minutes are dedicated to Eric learning about his powers before donning the iconic look. Because I enjoyed Skarsgård in that makeup so much, I needed far more. The aforementioned forty minute section could have easily been erased and skipped to Eric and his dark path. It has a number of contrivances that are laughable. The reason Shelly ends up in the rehab facility to later meet Eric was so absurd.
While the romance may be a weak point, the addition of mythology is welcomed. Danny Huston is superficially creepy as the villain and Sami Bouajila is stellar as the enigmatic Kronos. And the way things wrapped up, I was satisfied because it matches how depressing Eric’s journey has been. If it were the Brandon Lee version, the way Eric and Shelly were done there wouldn’t have matched it. Eric here is meant to be less heroic and more tortured, hence the excessive use of blood and gore.
Ultimately, The Crow struggles to lift itself from the shadow of the original, and arguably other revenge movies that came before it. But ‘Worst Movie of the Year’? Come off it! It’s not that bad! Madam Webb, Argyle or Civil War were even worse. At least I felt a level of competence from a director who can get the most out of his actors and cinematography. True, its pacing and script falters and the lack of actually seeing The Crow in (for lack of better phrases) full flight was a letdown. But if I enjoyed the majority of the ideas put forward and found myself satisfied with most of my time, it can’t be that bad.
